What are Rome's most famous fountains you should see?

What are Rome’s most famous fountains you should see?

Rome’s fountains represent one of the wonders that make this city unique in the world. They appear everywhere – practically no square exists without its own fountain. Small or large, they hold artistic, historical or simply… practical value.

Many of these fountains actually represent masterpieces by great architects and sculptors. Popes or nobles usually commissioned them to link their names to that of the city. These fountains concentrate creativity, beauty, faith and power rather than serving as simple hydraulic works.

Visiting Rome’s fountains means traveling through classical antiquity, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Let’s see an ideal tour among these works that truly form part of the city’s soul.

And if you want to learn more, contact the guides at Sidecar Tour in Rome. They always know what your ideal itinerary looks like!

Dreaming with your eyes open in front of the Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain stands as Rome’s most famous fountain and one of the most recognized in the world. Great Italian cinema has made it a protagonist in many films and each time it manages to leave everyone speechless. The fountain nestles into the facade of Palazzo Poli and always surprises you, even if you’ve seen it before. This happens because you practically cannot see it from afar, but you find yourself in front of it almost suddenly.

This fountain displays a masterpiece of Baroque style, which architect Nicola Salvi designed and Giuseppe Pannini completed in 1762. The sculpture shows the god Oceanus emerging from the waters, riding on a shell that seahorses pull, while tritons guide them. A true triumph of myth, art, stone and water, in which human imagination and natural elements merge as in a dream.

Tradition says that if you throw a coin into the water over your shoulder, you will surely return to Rome. Less famous versions exist too, according to which two coins will bring you love and three will lead to marriage. Does this work? Just try it! Many people then wonder where all those coins go. Workers regularly collect these coins and donate them to charity.

Much more expensive becomes the fine you risk paying if authorities catch you diving into the fountain. Movies allow that behavior only.

The best time to visit? Late evening and early morning, because the rest of the day you’ll have to elbow your way through the crowd.

The Trevi Fountain sits right in the center, roughly between Via del Corso and the Quirinal. From here a short walk takes you to another very famous fountain…

The elegance of the Barcaccia at Trinità dei Monti

The Barcaccia presents a decidedly different fountain, smaller and more discreet compared to the Trevi Fountain. However, its location offers one of the most beautiful settings: it sits right at the foot of the fabulous Spanish Steps of Trinità dei Monti, in the center of Piazza di Spagna. This represents one of Rome’s most refined and elegant places.

Architect Pietro Bernini and his son Gian Lorenzo created it in the 17th century. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles a boat that water half submerges, flowing from its edges.

This fountain also attracts crowds constantly, but the square’s size allows you to stop and admire this work without problems. You can start admiring it while descending from Trinità dei Monti toward the square, enjoying one of Rome’s most beautiful views.

The Baroque power of the Triton Fountain

From Piazza di Spagna you can walk to Piazza Barberini, where you’ll find the majestic Triton Fountain, which Gian Lorenzo Bernini created in 1643. Here too, as in the Trevi fountain, the theme features the sea and its mythological creatures. The fountain depicts Triton, son of the god Neptune, blowing into a shell to calm the waves, while four dolphins support him.

On the fountain you can see the coat of arms with bees of the Barberini family, one of the richest and most influential families in Rome’s history. Pope Urban VIII belonged to this family and commissioned the work.

The Fountain of the Naiads in Piazza della Repubblica

From Piazza Barberini you can continue toward Via Nazionale to Piazza della Repubblica, which Romans once called Piazza Esedra.

Actually, this space functions more as a large roundabout open to traffic than as a real square, but the central fountain and the buildings that border it (including the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli) still make it very fascinating.

At the center stands the Fountain of the Naiads. The name derives, as you can guess, from classical mythology. This fountain predates those we’ve seen so far by less time, dating from the early 20th century, making it one of Rome’s most modern fountains.

The bronze statues show the sea god Glaucus gripping a dolphin, surrounded by water nymphs, the Naiads. At the time of creation, people considered the Naiads far too sensual!

The Moses of Acqua San Felice

Just a few steps away you arrive at Piazza San Bernardo, where you can admire the monumental Fountain of Acqua Felice. Here we definitely go back in time, to the late 16th century, when Pope Sixtus V wanted this work to celebrate the reactivation of the Alexandrine Aqueduct.

People also call it the Fountain of Moses, because this prophet appears in the central statue, leading his people.

The Fountain of the Four Rivers (and more) at Piazza Navona

With a nice walk or taking a bus, we move toward the banks of the Tiber, precisely to Piazza Navona. This represents one of Rome’s most beautiful squares, and part of its charm lies precisely in the great Fountain of the Four Rivers. Gian Lorenzo Bernini created this 1651 work, which symbolizes four of the Earth’s greatest rivers: the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata, representing the continents that people knew at that time.

At the center, one of the many Egyptian obelisks found in Rome rises, reminding us of an empire that also included North Africa.

According to a legend, the statue dedicated to the Rio de la Plata seems to shield its gaze from the nearby Church of Sant’Agnese, which Borromini built. This would signal the famous rivalry between the two architects and artists. But art historians consider this just a legend.

At Piazza Navona you’ll find not only the Fountain of the Four Rivers, but at the two ends you can also admire the Fountain of the Moor and the Fountain of Neptune. Though less famous and grandiose, they still deserve attention during your stroll through the square.

The grace and charm of the Turtle Fountain

At the Jewish Ghetto, which you can reach from Piazza Navona going toward the Capitoline Hill, in Piazza Mattei you’ll find the Turtle Fountain.

This Renaissance fountain displays polychrome marbles and bronze statues. However, artists added the turtles later, perhaps none other than Gian Lorenzo Bernini (yes, the same one from the Fountain of the Four Rivers and several others).

It certainly doesn’t match the dimensions of those we’ve seen so far, but its beauty deserves a visit, especially at night when an almost fairy-tale atmosphere surrounds it.

Legend tells us that Duke Mattei built it in a single night, to impress his bride-to-be (or rather her father, who no longer wanted to give him his daughter after he had lost everything gambling!).

The Fountain of Acqua Paola or “Fontanone”

The work stands as another great symbol of the city. Romans simply call it the “Fontanone”, literally meaning the big fountain.

Its official name honors Fountain of Acqua Paola, after Pope Paul V who commissioned it in the early years of the 17th century, as the crowning achievement of the restoration of the Trajan aqueduct.

The Fontanone sits at the Janiculum, a Roman hill on the right bank of the Tiber. The trip there rewards you both with the fountain and one of Rome’s most beautiful panoramas.

Fountain of the Frogs at Coppedè

From the Janiculum we take a leap to northern Rome, in the small Coppedè district. Yes okay, the route doesn’t connect directly, but we still recommend it because it offers such curiosity.

Among its Art Nouveau buildings that seem to come out of a fairy tale book, you’ll find the Fountain of the Frogs. Compared to the others this fountain shows much more recent origins, dating back to 1924. Its characteristic feature displays twelve frogs that “jump” among its basins. An eccentric work for a very original and particular neighborhood.

This fountain also holds a curiosity, or perhaps a modern legend: people say that one night the Beatles bathed in it, while passing through Rome.

And why not also visit the Nymphaeum of Egeria?

Now we wander around Rome following the call of water. And if you allow yourself some relaxation at Caffarella Park, you can admire the Nymphaeum of Egeria.

The classical mythology tells us that Egeria was a nymph, hence the name nymphaeum. This location creates a very evocative atmosphere, surrounded by greenery, right along the path of a walk within the park.

Finally, a tribute to the “nasoni”

Rome holds the title of the city of fountains, but it also represents the city of “nasoni,” meaning the characteristic drinking fountains you find scattered everywhere in Roman streets and squares.

During your tourist walks, especially if spring arrives or even more so in summer, you’ll thank these small fountains that, without artistic pretensions, refresh you and quench your thirst with their continuous flow of fresh water!

Did you enjoy the virtual tour we took together and want to experience it for real but without fatigue?
Organize your personalized route with Sidecar Tour in Rome to discover Rome’s most beautiful fountains!